Gómez Báez, Máximo

Born Nov. 18, 1836, in Bani, Dominican Republic; died June 17, 1905, in Havana. One of the leaders of the national liberation struggle of the Cuban people.

From 1861 to 1865, Gómez took part in the Dominican Republic’s war of independence from Spain. In 1865 he moved to Cuba. He joined the insurgent army at the beginning of the war of independence in Cuba and soon became a general. He gained significant victories over the Spanish at Palo Seco (1873), Naranjo (1874), Guásimas (1874), and elsewhere. After the Ten Years’ War (1868–78) he emigrated and began preparations for a new struggle against the colonizers. In April 1895 he landed in Cuba (in Oriente Province) at the head of the Liberation Army. After the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the occupation of Cuba by the USA (January 1899), he agreed to disband the Liberation Army, thereby taking a compromised stand.